cheato question

[1628mna]

i here of alot of people getting there cheato to roll in the fuge. please can someone tell me how to get it rolling literally. i dont have lighting on it now. you think it will raise to the top of the fuge if i was to put the light on.

[NealNano]

You do not need to roll it. It works the same sitting still.

[oldreefer76]

I just turn mine over every couple of days

[1628mna]

why is it that people are stressing that"my cheato is really rolling" then. i believe you neal but i heard that if it only rolls it will be able to pick the nitrites up .

[1628mna]

hey oldreefer. i lost your number(accidently deleted my pm messages without knowing it). i was going to rms for some crickets for my son and just picked some up then, thank you for offering me some cheato though. very much appreciated. my question to you is do you physically pick it up and turn it over?

[FranktheTankTx]

Cheato does not need to "roll" or tumble. I have placed a small ph in the fuge section to add some circulation before... but not even that made my cheato roll. Cheato is very effective just sitting there in a ball.

[snorvich]

Mine does not roll. I turn mine and keep it relatively flat.

[bergzy]

Originally posted by 1628mna
i here of alot of people getting there cheato to roll in the fuge. please can someone tell me how to get it rolling literally. i dont have lighting on it now. you think it will raise to the top of the fuge if i was to put the light on.

from my years of experience with chaeto...and chaeto is one of my favorite things to play with since it is indestructible, grows like a weed (literally) and is so versatile...i have observationally 'experimented' with it for years. please...no, it's not scientific what you do, i get the same growth without this and that, i can leap over tall buildings in a single bound...i am just relaying MY findings...

ime, i found that rolling chaeto grows faster than chaeto bound up growing in a sump partitioned fuge. i even made the partition to receive as much flow as possible by using eggcrate.

the chaeto in the partition grew very slow in comparison to rolling chaeto. when i finally took out the sump partitioned fuge in my 110g mixed and installed my patent pending bucket fuge to get the ball rolling (get it? ), it literally took two weeks for the rolling ball to outgrow the chaeto that was growing in the sump partition that took months.

what is the big deal about fast chaeto growth? yep, fast nutrient reduction. about as simple as simple gets. with a little help from mankind (water movement and light), i let mother nature do the majority of my filtration now. this epiphany took years to reach...wow, what a waste of time and money to get here!!!

here is a link to my 2g bucket fuge i made for my 110g mixed reef:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1258948
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1264664

the three things i found to exponential chaeto growth is:
1) good intense light of good spectrum. i found 6500k pc to be optimal. it should be as close to the light as possible and be safe.
2) high flow. my 5g bucket fuge gets 600gph for a 120x turnover and the 2g gets 300gph for a 150x turnover.
3) the flow should be a rolling circular action. why? it spins the chaeto. this exposes the entire colony to light and good water flow which in return induces rapid efficient and effective growth. it also doesnt 'rip' apart the colony. high flow doesnt mean violent...like the water coming from your overflow. nor should it be fully laminar as it can rip apart chaeto as well.

again, these are MY opinions and observations only.

oh and here is anthony calfo discussing flow through a fuge:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=462212

i have continually bumped up the turnover rate and found only better and better growth....ime of course...